Handheld electronic device and associated method providing availability data in a messaging environment

ABSTRACT

An improved handheld electronic device and an associated method are provided in which enhanced information regarding an “availability” of a user of a handheld electronic device is provided to another electronic device in a messaging environment. Such availability data provides step-wise indications of the relative availabilities of one or more users of electronic devices in a messaging environment. The step-wise indications can, for instance, range from an availability level of “currently active” to several levels of nonavailability. The device and method can be incorporated into an existing messaging environment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. Utility patentapplication Ser. No. 10/942,305, filed Sep. 16, 2004, entitledElectronic Device and Associated Method Providing Availability Data in aMessaging Environment, (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,315,747, issued Jan. 1,2008) which application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/503,367 entitled “A Method for Creating aPeer-to-Peer Quick Messaging Solution Without Using an Instant MessagingServer,” which was filed on Sep. 16, 2003, and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/503,366 entitled “Activity Proxying Presence inMobile Instant Messaging,” which was filed on Sep. 16, 2003. Thedisclosure of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/503,367 and thedisclosure of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/503,366 are herebyincorporated into the present application by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to handheld electronic devices and, moreparticularly, to a handheld electronic device and a method and protocolfor providing information representative of an availability of a user ina messaging environment.

2. Background of the Invention

Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples ofsuch handheld electronic devices include, for instance, personal dataassistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellulartelephones, and the like. Such handheld electronic devices are generallyintended to be portable, and thus are relatively small. Many handheldelectronic devices also feature wireless communication capability,although many such handheld electronic devices are stand-alone devicesthat are functional without communication with other devices. Withadvances in technology, handheld electronic devices are being configuredto include greater numbers of features while having relatively smallerform factors.

Electronic devices, including handheld electronic devices, are capableof numerous types of communication. One type of communication is“messaging”, and one type of messaging is “instant messaging” whichenables a first device to send a message to a second device. Manyinstant messaging services, both public and private, are availabletoday. With most all instant messaging services, a given electronicdevice is provided with an interface that identifies various otherelectronic devices with which the given electronic device cancommunicate. If one of the other electronic devices has been logged outof the instant messaging service or has been switched off, the interfacetypically will identify the “presence” of such electronic device asbeing “unavailable”. Otherwise, the other electronic devices are listedas having a “presence” of “available” unless a user of one of the otherelectronic devices has manually changed his or her presence to adifferent setting, such as “out to lunch”. While instant messagingprotocols and devices using the protocols have been generally effectivefor their intended purposes, such instant messaging protocols anddevices have not been without limitation.

Generally, all instant messaging services employ protocols that werewritten for desktop devices, i.e., devices that generally are notportable. In an environment that includes handheld electronic devices,i.e., devices that are portable and generally remain switched on, theold protocol presence designations of “available” and “unavailable” areimprecise since such a handheld electronic device is nearly alwayslisted as “available”, even late at night when a user clearly is notavailable, say, for instant messaging. Such an imprecise indication of auser's availability is generally undesirable in a messaging environmentsince it is generally desired that a recipient of a message be availableto read and respond to the message. The communication of messages to anunavailable user wastes the time of the sender of the messages and alsowastes communication bandwidth. It thus would be desirable to provide animproved method and apparatus for providing more accurate informationregarding the availability of a user of a handheld electronic device ina messaging environment. Such an improved method and apparatus desirablymight be capable of use with existing instant messaging services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An improved handheld electronic device and an associated method areprovided in which enhanced information regarding an “availability” of auser of a handheld electronic device is provided to another electronicdevice in a messaging environment. Such availability data providesstep-wise indications of the relative availabilities of one or moreusers of electronic devices in a messaging environment. The step-wiseindications can, for instance, range from an availability level of“currently active” to several levels of nonavailability. The device andmethod can be incorporated into an existing messaging environment.

Accordingly, an aspect of the invention is to provide an improvedhandheld electronic device, a messaging method, and a protocol in whicha relatively descriptive indication of a user's availability in amessaging environment is provided to other users in the environment.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved method ofhelping users of a messaging service to communicate with other users byhaving an awareness of the relative availabilities of the other users ofhandheld electronic devices for messaging.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved method ofhelping users of a messaging service to reduce the amount of time thatotherwise is wasted in attempting to communicate with other users of themessaging service by providing an indication as to whether or not theother users are likely to respond to messages.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved method ofreducing wasted bandwidth in a messaging environment by reducing thenumber of sent messages that are unlikely to receive a response fromanother user.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved handheldelectronic device, a messaging method, and a protocol in which arelatively descriptive indication of a user's availability in amessaging environment is provided to other users in the environment andthat can be incorporated, at least in part, into an existing messagingservice.

Accordingly, an aspect of the invention is to provide an improved methodof enabling communication of enhancement data between a first device anda second device, with the first device being a handheld electronicdevice having a wireless communication capability, and with the seconddevice being an electronic device. The first device and the seconddevice are capable of communication with one another in a firstcommunications band. The general nature of the method can be stated asincluding enabling a communication between the first device and thesecond device in a second communications band, and enabling atransmission of enhancement data between the first device and the seconddevice in the second communications band.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved method ofenabling communication of enhancement data between a first device and asecond device, with the first device being a handheld electronic devicehaving a wireless communication capability, and with the second devicebeing an electronic device. The general nature of the method can bestated as including enabling a communication between the first deviceand the second device, enabling a determination responsive to saidcommunication that the first device and the second device are capable ofcommunicating enhancement data, and enabling a transmission ofenhancement data between the first device and the second device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full understanding of the invention can be gained from the followingDescription of the Preferred Embodiment when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary top plan view of a handheld electronic device inaccordance with the invention which can be used in conjunction with animproved method in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the handheld electronic device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the handheld electronic device of FIG. 1and another device in a messaging environment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view of an output provided in accordance with themethod of the invention in the messaging environment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view of an alternate icon that can be provided aspart of the output;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart of a portion of an improved methodrelated to the devices of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is another exemplary flowchart of a portion of another improvedmethod related to the device of FIG. 3.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts to the specification.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

An improved handheld electronic device 4 in accordance with theinvention is indicated generally in FIG. 1 and is depicted schematicallyin FIG. 2. The exemplary handheld electronic device 4 includes a housing8 upon which are disposed an input apparatus 12, an output apparatus 16and a processor apparatus 20. The input apparatus 12 includes a keypad24 that can be said to include a plurality of keys 28.

The output apparatus 16 includes a display 50. The output apparatus 16can additionally include, for instance, additional indicators such aslights, and the like, and can additionally include an audible outputsuch as a speaker as well as other output devices.

The processor apparatus 20 includes a processor 52 that can be, forinstance, and without limitation, a microprocessor (μP), and it isresponsive to inputs from the input apparatus 12 and provides outputsignals to the output apparatus 16. The processor apparatus 20 furtherincludes a memory 56 that includes a client 60 stored therein. Theexemplary client 60 is a messaging routine that can provide a messagingcapability on the device 4. It is understood that the memory 56 likelyincludes a number of other routines that are not expressly mentionedherein. As employed herein, the expression “a number of” and variationsthereof shall refer broadly to any nonzero quantity including a quantityof one. The processor 52 interfaces with the memory 56, and the client60 is executable on the processor 52. A more detailed discussion of thegeneration and provision of availability information is provided incommonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/942,749 and10/942,167 filed on Sep. 16, 2004, entitled “Handheld Electronic Deviceand Associated Method Providing Availability Data in a MessagingEnvironment” and identified by; and entitled “A Method For Creating APeer-To-Peer Immediate Messaging Solution Without Using An InstantMessaging Server” and identified by , the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated into the present application by reference.

The device 4 further includes a wireless communication system. As can beseen in FIG. 3, the device 4 and, more specifically, the client 60 caninterface with a messaging service 62 to wirelessly provide themessaging capability on the device 4. In the depicted exemplaryembodiment, the messaging service 62 provides an instant messagingcapability on the device 4 and on the other electronic devices havingclients that are subscribers to the messaging service 62. The messagingservice 62 is schematically depicted as including a server 68 and asproviding communication within a first communication band 64. The firstcommunication band 64 can generally be said to include the preexistingprotocol of the messaging service 62 as transmitted through thepredetermined communication bandwidth through which the messagingservice 62 is provided to its subscribers.

FIG. 3 further depicts another device 104 as being a device having aclient that is another subscriber to the messaging service 62.Specifically, the device 104 is an electronic device having a client 160thereon which can communicate with the messaging service 62 to provide amessaging capability on the device 104. While the exemplary device 104is depicted as having a wireless connection with the messaging service62, it is understood that the device 104 may employ a non-wirelesscommunication capability and still not depart from the concept of theinvention. It is further understood that while only the two devices 4and 104 are depicted in FIG. 3 as being subscribers to the messagingservice 62, many more subscribers to the messaging service 62 exist butare not expressly depicted in FIG. 3.

In accordance with an aspect of the improved method of the invention,the protocol of the messaging service 62, as provided on the devices 4and 104 by the clients 60 and 160, respectively, provides to users ofthe devices 4 and 104 enhanced data regarding the likely availability ofthe other users of the other devices that are subscribers to themessaging service 62. That is, a user of a device 4, 104 having a client60, 160 that is a subscriber to the messaging service 62 can receiveenhanced data regarding the likely availability of the other subscribersto the messaging service 62 with which the user has already developedsome type of electronic relationship. The data regarding availabilitycan, for example, be in a stepped form that provides discrete levels ofavailability. Other formats for the availability data can be providedwithout departing from the concept of the invention.

For example, the stepped availability of a user of a device 4 can berepresented by, for instance, a level from among a plurality of levelsof availability and a plurality, for instance, of levels ofnonavailability, depending upon the configuration of the device 4 andthe client 60 thereon. The device 4 may, for instance, include atelephone capability, an e-mail capability, an organizer/calendarcapability, a wireless point-to-point communication capability such asprovided by the Bluetooth protocol or other protocol, an instantmessaging capability, a push-to-talk communication capability, and/ormany other capabilities. The detected degree of usage of the device 4and/or of the various capabilities of the device 4 can be employed togenerate the availability data which is reflective of an availability atany given time of a user of the device 4.

In the present exemplary embodiment 104, the availability data can be atany of six levels of availability, i.e., A(1), A(2), A(3), A(4), A(5),and A(6), with A(6) being the highest level of availability, or at anyof three levels of nonavailability, i.e., and for example, “suspend”,“unavailable”, and “offline”. Each such level can have a generaldescription of the corresponding activity status on a device such as isprovided in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Availability Level General Description of Activity Status A(6)Currently active on messaging application, i.e., client A(5) Currentlyactively using device A(4) Sporadically using device A(3) Less frequentdevice use A(2) Infrequent device use A(1) No recent device use SuspendOn phone or on data call Unavailable Device unreachable (for instance,powered off or out of coverage) Offline Not logged into messagingservice or client, or user is blocked.

As a general matter, the “availability” of a user of a device 4 can bedetermined in a general fashion, or at least estimated, from theparticular activity status of the device 4. For instance, if a user isactively using the messaging client 60 on the device 4, such as wouldcorrespond with the availability level A(6), the user likely is highlyavailable to receive and respond to additional messages received throughthe messaging service 62 from other subscribers to the messaging service62. Similarly, if the user has not used the device 4 for a predeterminedperiod of time, such as might correspond with the availability levelA(1), the user may be unlikely to respond to messages sent through themessaging service 62. If another subscriber is considering sending amessage to the aforementioned user, the subscriber may consult theavailability data provided to him regarding the user in order to gaugethe likelihood that the user will be available for and be able torespond to a message through the messaging service 62. If the subscribersees that the other user's availability is low, the subscriber mayrefrain from sending a message to the user on the assumption that theuser would not respond to such a message. This would save the subscriberfrom wasted time and effort and would also save wasted usage oftransmission bandwidth on the messaging service 62. The protocoldescribed herein thus provides a plurality of levels of availabilitythat are based at least in part upon the activity status of a device 4and that provide to other subscribers an understanding of the potentialfor a user of the device 4 to respond to messages sent through themessaging service 62.

As suggested above, a plurality of nonavailability levels can beprovided. The nonavailability level “suspend” might be used to refer toa situation in which a telephone event such as a telephone call isoccurring on the device 4. In such a circumstance, the subscribers tothe messaging service 62 would understand that the user of the device 4on which the telephone event is occurring is temporarily not availablebut likely will be available as soon as the telephone call is ended. Thenonavailability level “offline” might indicate to subscribers that theuser of the device 4 has affirmatively terminated his or heravailability, and that substantially no present possibility exists ofthe user receiving or responding to a message from a subscriber. Thenonavailability level “unavailable” might indicate that the user of thedevice 4 is presently not available, but that the reason for suchnonavailability is not specifically known, and that the user potentiallycould become available again at any time. The protocol described hereinthus also provides a plurality of descriptive levels of nonavailabilitythat provide to other subscribers an understanding of the potential foran availability of a user of a device to go from nonavailable toavailable.

Numerous different activity statuses of the device 4 can be employed indetermining an availability status for the device 4. Certain specificactivities on the device 4 can trigger the generation of a specificavailability level for transmission to the other subscribers to themessaging service 62. Certain other activities can cause the currentavailability level to be altered by a specific degree, i.e., byincreasing or decreasing the current availability level to apredetermined extent. An exemplary set of activities on the device 4 andtheir corresponding exemplary results on the availability level of thedevice 4 are provided in Table 2. It is noted that a listed result suchas “A(−1)” means that the current activity level is to be dropped by onelevel. A listed result such as “A(1)” means that the activity level isto be changed from whatever is its current value to a value of A(1). Itis noted that Table 2 is not intended to be exhaustive, and thatnumerous other activities and other results can be provided.

TABLE 2 Result on Activity Availability Level Device stays in holder for10 minutes A(−1) Device stays in holder for 3 minutes with new A(−1)messages not being read. Profile changes from alert mode to quiet modeA(−2) Handheld receives a phone call Suspend Handheld places a phonecall Suspend Compose an email to me A(6) provided to me A(5) provided toeverybody else Compose an email to somebody else A(5) Compose an Instantmessage to me A(6) Compose an Instant Message to somebody else A(6) Turnoff radio Unavailable Turn on radio A(1) Auto shut-off Unavailable Autopower on A(1) Manual power on A(4) Appointment in Calendar A(−2) Meetingin calendar (with other attendees) A(−4) Turn off cell phone A(−4)Send/receive a Data Call Suspend for 5 minutes Radio turned off due tolow battery Unavailable Read a received email, or SMS A(+1), max A(5)Read a received IM A(6)

From the activity in Table 2 “compose an email to me”, it can be seenthat the intended recipient of the email, i.e., “me”, will receive anavailability level of A(6) for the user composing the email, and theother subscribers will receive an availability level of A(5) for theuser composing the email. This indicates that the availability level canbe tailored to specific subscribers to the messaging service 62 inspecific circumstances. It is understood that the designation “IM”employed in the instant application refers generally to the expression“instant message” and variations thereof, and is generally intended torefer to the messaging service 62 or to a data transmission provided onthe messaging service 62, although the designation “IM” is not intendedto limit the teachings herein strictly to an instant messagingenvironment, and the teachings rather can be applied in a variety ofmessaging environment.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, a subscriber to the messaging service 62 maysee, for example, the output 78 provided by the user interface 76 on hisdevice 104. For instance, the subscriber who is the user of the seconddevice 104 may see the output 78, and the output 78 would include anindication of the various availability levels of the various other userswith whom the user of the device 104 has already established anelectronic relationship, such as the user of the first device 4. Theexemplary output 78 includes a listing of contacts 80, i.e., the othersubscribers with whom an electronic relationship has already beenestablished, as well as an indication of the level of availability ofeach contact 80. In the present example, the indication of the level ofavailability is provided both by an availability icon 84 and by a stringvalue 96. Each of the exemplary availability icons 84 in FIG. 4 is adescriptive icon 88, meaning that it provides a general depiction of theavailability of the user as determined by the specific activity statuson the corresponding device. The corresponding exemplary string value 96is depicted herein as being a linguistic expression that correspondsgenerally with the descriptive icon 88 and with the activity status ofthe other user.

The availability of the other subscribers can, however, be expressed inother fashions without departing from the concept of the invention. Forinstance, FIG. 5 depicts a plurality of availability icons 84 that arevariable icons 92A, 92B, 92C, 92D, 92E, 92F, and 92G. The variable icons92A, 92B, 92C, 92D, 92E, 92F, and 92G are depicted as each including aset of bars that either are filled in or are empty in a variable orgraduated fashion depending upon the availability level. For instance,the variable icon 92A may correspond with activity level ofnonavailable, the variable icon 92B may correspond with the activitylevel A(1), and so forth through the variable icon 92G which maycorrespond with the activity level A(6). Numerous other types ofvariable icons can be employed, such as icons that are lit at varyinglevels of brightness, that depict a water glass as gradually becomingmore full with or less full of a liquid, and the like. Such variableicons 92A, 92B, 92C, 92D, 92E, 92F, and 92G can be employed, forinstance, in the place of either or both of the descriptive icons 88 andthe string values 96. It is noted that all of the availability icons 84and string values 96 are stepped indications representative ofpredetermined stepped availability levels. Other ways of presentingavailability information can be employed without departing from theconcept of the invention.

As can be understood, the availability data may, for instance, be sentfrom one device to another at particular times, rather than beingcontinuously updated. For instance, the availability data may be sentonly after an expiration of a predetermined duration of time, such asten minutes, for example. Such periodic transfer of availability datawill save transmission bandwidth while providing availability data thatis generally up to date. Alternative, or in addition thereto, theavailability data concerning a device 4, 104 may be transmitted more orless immediately upon the occurrence of a predetermined event on thedevice 4, 104, such as the occurrence of a telephone event on the device4, 104, or such as the occurrence of an event that would affect thewireless capability of the device 4, 104 such as from a powering off ofthe device 4, 104 or a logging out by the user from the client 60 or themessaging service 62.

The availability data provided by the protocol and method presentedherein typically is generated and transmitted automatically, i.e.,without a need for an affirmative action by the user to select anavailability level or an activity status. This is particularly useful inthe environment of a handheld electronic device 4, 104 because, forinstance, a person receiving a telephone call on the handheld electronicdevice 4, 104 typically will be unable at that moment to manually changean availability level. Specifically, a person receiving a telephone calllikely will want to accept the telephone call without manually changingan availability level.

It is also noted that the determination of an availability of a device4, 104 can be incorporated with other data stored on the device 4, 104or available to the device 4, 104. For instance, a device 4, 104 mayinclude a calendar function that stores meetings and the like. Upondetermining, for instance, that a meeting is scheduled to begin at aspecific time, and upon detecting that the specific time has occurred,the device 4, 104 may generate a resultant availability level that isrelatively low or is a level of unavailability based upon the user beingin the scheduled meeting. The resultant availability level potentiallycould be tailored by the user depending upon, for instance, theimportance of the meeting and/or the need to not be interrupted duringthe meeting. Other uses will be apparent.

The protocol described herein can be employed in various messagingenvironments, such as instant messaging environments and other messagingenvironments, as well as, for instance, messaging environments thatemploy or could usefully employ presence information and are generallyavailable in a mixed environment of fixed and portable electronicdevices. It is understood, however, that known messaging protocols andmessaging services are not currently configured to provide for thetransfer of enhancement data which would be representative of theavailability of the various subscribers to the messaging services. Inaccordance with an aspect of the invention, the protocol describedherein can be implemented, at least in part, on such preexistingmessaging services 62.

As a general matter, enhancement data that is reflective of anavailability of a user of a device can be provided between a pair ofdevices 4, 104 that are subscribers to a known messaging service 62 ifthe devices 4, 104 are in some fashion capable of sending and/orreceiving availability data. Preexisting devices 4, 104 havingpreexisting clients that are subscribers to preexisting messagingservices 62 generally do not have the capability to communicate suchavailability data; however, it is possible for a preexisting device 4,104 to have or receive an upgraded client 60, 160, i.e., one that iscapable of communication of availability data. Such an upgraded client60, 160 can be provided in any of a variety of ways, such as byproviding it in a download to the device, providing it on a machinereadable medium, and in many other fashions. As a general matter, afteran upgraded client 60, 160 is loaded onto a preexisting device 4, 104 ona preexisting messaging service 62, the upgraded client 60, 160 willbegin to try to determine which of the other clients 60, 160 with whichan electronic relationship has already been established are alsoupgraded clients 60, 160 capable of communication of availability data.

FIGS. 6 and 7 depict flowcharts that set forth the exemplary ways inwhich the methods of providing availability data set forth herein can beimplemented, i.e., bootstrapped, into a preexisting messaging service 62which, by way of example herein, is an instant messaging service 62. Afirst method of providing the new protocol and methods described hereinon a preexisting messaging service 62 is depicted in FIG. 6.

Once the upgraded client 60, 160 has been loaded onto a preexistingfirst device 4, such as was mentioned above, the upgraded client 60, 160then sends a coded transmission, as at 204, via the preexistingmessaging service 62 to a second preexisting device 104 having a client60, 160 on the preexisting messaging service 62. In this regard, themessage could be coded to include, for example, special characters orspecially formatted white space, i.e., spaces and tabs, that can betransmitted over the communications band of the preexisting messagingservice 62. The coding may be such that an upgraded client 60, 160, suchas one capable of sending and/or receiving availability data, on thesecond device 104 would recognize the coding as an invitation from theclient 60, 160 on the first device 4 to enter into an electronicnegotiation for the transmission of activity data between the firstdevice 4 and the second device 104. The coding may also be such that anon-upgraded client 60, 160, such as one that is not capable of sendingand/or receiving availability data, would simply ignore the coding.

In the present example, however, it is assumed that upon receiving themessage on the second device 104, as at 208, the client 60, 160 thereonis an upgraded client 60, 160 that is capable of interpreting the codedportion of the message as an invitation from the first device 4 to enterinto a negotiation with the first device 4. The client 60, 160 on thesecond device 104 then sends, as at 212, a response to the first device4 using the preexisting messaging service 62 to indicate that the seconddevice 104 includes a client 60. 160 capable of handling availabilitydata, and the upgraded clients 60, 160 on the first and second devices 4and 104 enter into a negotiation as to how availability data will betransmitted therebetween. For instance, the negotiation may determinethat the availability data is to be sent over the preexisting messagingservice 62 between the first and second devices 4 and 104 in a specificcoded fashion or in any of a variety of other fashions.

The first device 4 then sends, as at 216, a signal representative ofavailability data over the preexisting messaging service 62 to thesecond device 104. The first and second devices 4 and 104 also exchange,as at 220, conventional data over the preexisting messaging service 62,if such a communication is desired. It thus can be seen that by enablingan upgraded client 60, 160 to use a preexisting messaging service 62 tolocate other upgraded clients 60, 160, the upgraded clients 60, 160 canexchange availability data over the preexisting messaging service 62 inaddition to exchanging conventional data such as messages over the samepreexisting messaging service 62.

Another method of providing the new protocol described herein on apreexisting messaging service 62 is depicted in FIG. 7. The method ofFIG. 7 is similar to the method of FIG. 6, except that the availabilitydata is shown in FIG. 7 as being communicated between the first andsecond devices 4 and 104 via an alternate communications band 72 (FIG.3), which can be any communications band other than the communicationsband of the preexisting messaging service 62.

Specifically, a coded transmission is sent, as at 304, via thepreexisting message service 62 from the upgraded client on the firstdevice 4 to the upgraded client 60, 160 on the second device 104. Thecoded transmission is received on the second device 104, as at 308, andis interpreted by the upgraded client 60, 160 thereon. The second device104 then sends, as at 312, a response via the preexisting messageservice to the first device 4 requesting a negotiation.

At 320, however, the first device 4 and the second device 104 exchangealternate identifications for the purpose of identifying an alternatecommunications band 72 and for identifying the first device 4 and thesecond device 104 on the alternate communications band 72. Specifically,the first device 4 transmits one or more first identifications to thesecond device 104, and the second device 104 transmits one or moresecond identifications to the first device 4. The first and secondidentifications can be, for example, telephone numbers, IP addresses,PINs, e-mail address, instant messaging user-IDs, and the like thatwould identify the first device 4 and the second device 104,respectively, on another network such as a telephone network, a globalcommunications network, private or public messaging network, or othernetwork on an alternate communications band 72 on which the first device4 and the second device 104 are capable of communication with oneanother.

Upon performing the negotiation, in which an alternate communicationsband 72 is selected between the first and second devices 4 and 104, theavailability data is sent, as at 324, between the first and seconddevices 4 and 104 over the alternate communications band. Conventionaldata can then be exchanged, as at 328, over the preexisting messagingservice if such communication of data, such as a message, is desired.

The protocol and methods of exchanging availability data set forthherein thus advantageously can be implemented onto a preexistingmessaging services 62. As set forth above, the availability data can besent periodically, such as upon the occurrence of a predetermined eventor an expiration of a predetermined duration of time, or otherwise. Ofcourse, a new messaging service 62 could be established that providesthe protocol herein for the communication of availability data betweendevices.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described indetail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and alternatives to those details could be developed inlight of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, theparticular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only andnot limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given thefull breadth of the claims appended and any and all equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of enabling communication ofavailability data between a first device and a second device, the firstdevice being a handheld electronic device having a wirelesscommunication capability, the second device being an electronic device,the first device and the second device being capable of communicatingwith one another in a first communications band using a messagingservice, the method comprising: communicating a message indicatingcapability of sending availability data between the first device and thesecond device in the first communications band using the messagingservice; determining, based on communicating the message, a secondcommunications band between the first device and the second device forexchanging the availability data; and the first device sending, based onthe determining the second communications band, availability data to thesecond device over the second communications band while enablingcommunications using the messaging service in the first communicationsband.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the secondcommunications band comprises exchanging, using the messaging servicebased on communicating the message, a first identification of the firstdevice and a second identification of the second device between thefirst device and the second device, the first identification and thesecond identification each being identifiers that enable the firstdevice and the second device, respectively, to be identified on thesecond communications band.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the seconddevice is a handheld electronic device.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the second device is a handheld electronic device.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the availability data is representative at least inpart of a degree of relative availability of a user of the first device.6. The method of claim 5, wherein the availability data isrepresentative at least in part of a stepped availability of a user ofone of the first device and the second device.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein determining the second communications band comprises determiningthat each of the first device and the second device are capable of atleast one of generating and interpreting the availability data.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising exchanging, based on thedetermining the second communications band, between the first device andthe second device a first identification of the first device and asecond identification of the second device, the first identification andthe second identification each being identifiers that enable the firstdevice and the second device, respectively, to be identified on thesecond communications band.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprisingdetermining that the first device and the second device are capable ofat least one of generating interpreting the availability data comprisescommunication of a signal in the first communications band wherein atleast a portion of the signal is adapted to be communicated over themessaging system and indicates that the one of the first device and thesecond device is capable of at least one of generating and interpretingof availability data.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first andsecond identifications are anyone or more of telephone numbers, Internetprotocol (IP) addresses, personal identification numbers (PINs), e-mailaddresses, and instant messaging user identifiers (IDs).
 11. A handheldelectronic device with a wireless communication capability comprising: aprocessor apparatus including a processor and a memory; an inputapparatus; an output apparatus; and the memory including a routinestored therein, the routine being operable for enabling communication ofavailability data between the handheld electronic device and a seconddevice, the second device being an electronic device, the handheldelectronic device and the second device being capable of communicationwith one another in a first communications band using a messagingservice, the routine comprising computer executable instructions for:communicating a message indicating capability of sending availabilitydata between the handheld electronic device and the second device in thefirst communications band using the messaging service; determining,based on communicating the message, a second communications band betweenthe handheld electronic device and the second device for exchangingavailability data; and sending, based on the determining the secondcommunications band, availability data the second device over the secondcommunications band while enabling communications using the messagingservice in the first communications band.
 12. The handheld electronicdevice of claim 11, wherein determining the second communications bandcomprises exchanging, using the messaging service based on communicatingthe message, a first identification of the handheld electronic deviceand a second identification of the second device between the handheldelectronic device and the second device, the first identification andthe second identification each being identifiers that enable thehandheld electronic device and the second device, respectively, to beidentified on the second communications band.
 13. The handheldelectronic device of claim 12, wherein the second device is a handheldelectronic device.
 14. The handheld electronic device of claim 11,wherein the second device is a handheld electronic device.
 15. Thehandheld electronic device of claim 11, wherein the availability data isrepresentative at least in part of a degree of relative availability ofa user of the handheld electronic device.
 16. The handheld electronicdevice of claim 15, wherein the availability data is representative atleast in part of a stepped availability of a user of one of the handheldelectronic device and the second device.
 17. The handheld electronicdevice of claim 11, wherein determining the second communications bandcomprises determining that each of the handheld electronic device andthe second device are capable of at least one of generating andinterpreting the availability data.
 18. The handheld electronic deviceof claim 17, wherein the routine further comprises instructions forexchanging, based on the determining the second communications band,between the handheld electronic device and the second device of a firstidentification of the handheld electronic device and a secondidentification of the second device, the first identification and thesecond identification each being identifiers that enable the handheldelectronic device and the second device, respectively, to be identifiedon the second communications band.
 19. The handheld electronic device ofclaim 18, wherein the routine further comprises instructions fordetermining that the handheld electronic device and the second deviceare capable of at least one of generating interpreting the availabilitydata comprises communication of a signal in the first communicationsband wherein at least a portion of the signal is adapted to becommunicated over the messaging service and indicates that the one ofthe-handheld electronic device and the second device is capable of atleast one of generating and interpreting of availability data.
 20. Thehandheld electronic device of claim 18, wherein the first and secondidentifications are any one or more of telephone numbers, Internetprotocol (IP) addresses, personal identification numbers (PINs), e-mailaddresses, and instant messaging user identifiers (IDs).